Here is an email from Anna Nix, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli campaign for governor. She and other members of Cuccinelli’s campaign staff put together campaign emails with great rapidity (and much more skill than I have). So when I would be content with one email per week, I usually get two or three a day. Unfortunately, Nix and company’s emails usually tell me something I did not want to know about Terry McAuliffe. Here is one of the “better” ones.

Risks

Good Morning,

With The Associated Press reporting on the risk associated with President Obama campaigning on behalf of Terry McAuliffe, given that his administration has launched two probes involving GreenTech, it’s worth remembering that a struggling electric car company under investigation isn’t the only reason the President may have issues visiting the Old Dominion.

It’s quite clear, given Terry McAuliffe’s 2009 comment that he never wants another coal plant built and his refusal to take an aggressive stand against the President’s war on coal, that McAuliffe will not fight for Virginia’s coal communities and would rather advance his radical environmental ideology than keep the cost of electricity down for hardworking families and job creators.

Additionally, as the ObamaCare train wreck continues to be marred by implementation delays and Virginia voters become more and more aware of the increased costs of health insurance, it’s clear that McAuliffe’s unequivocal support does him no favors.

With two investigations, one war and a train wreck – there certainly are “risks” for the Obama-McAuliffe team in Virginia.

BACKGROUND

The Associated Press: “[T]here Are Risks If Obama Appears In Virginia, Where McAuliffe’s Campaign Has Been Rocked By A Federal Probe Into An Electric Car Company He Started.” (“Risk Vs. Reward In Delicate White House Calculations About Where To Deploy Obama In Key Races,” The Associated Press, 8/23/13)

THE OBAMA-McAULIFFE WAR ON COAL

Terry McAuliffe Has Not Spoken Out Against Obama’s War On Coal

Obama Outlined His Latest Energy Plan That Will Expand Greenhouse-Gas Regulations To Cover Existing Power Plants. “President Obama will announce Tuesday in a speech at Georgetown University that he plans to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from existing power plants, according to individuals who have been briefed on the plan but asked not to be identified.” (Juliet Eilperin, “Obama To Announce Tuesday He Will Regulate Existing Power Plants As Part Of Climate Strategy,” The Washington Post, 6/22/13)

Harvard University’s Daniel P. Schrag, One Of Obama’s Advisers On Climate Change, Said “A War On Coal Is Exactly What’s Needed.” “Daniel P. Schrag, a geochemist who is the head of Harvard University’s Center for the Environment and a member of a presidential science panel that has helped advise the White House on climate change, said he hoped the presidential speech would mark a turning point in the national debate on climate change. ‘Everybody is waiting for action,’ he said. ‘The one thing the president really needs to do now is to begin the process of shutting down the conventional coal plants. Politically, the White House is hesitant to say they’re having a war on coal. On the other hand, a war on coal is exactly what’s needed.'” (John M Broder, “Obama to Outline Ambitious Plan to Cut Greenhouse Gases,” The New York Times, 6/25/13)

“McAuliffe Himself Has Yet To Comment Directly On Obama’s Climate Regulations.” (Coral Davenport, “Terry McAuliffe Is A Flip-Flopper–And That’s Just Fine With Green Groups,” National Journal, 7/22/13)

In 2009, McAuliffe Said “As Governor, I Never Want Another Coal Plant Built”

The President’s Plan “Will Raise Consumers’ Electricity Prices.” “[T]he move to impose greenhouse gas limits on existing plants — which account for a third of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and 40 percent of its carbon emissions — will raise consumers’ electricity prices in the short term as utilities are forced to shutter aging coal plants to comply with stricter pollution limits.” (Juliet Eilperin, “Obama To Take Sweeping Action On Climate,” The Washington Post, 6/22/13)

THE OBAMACARE TRAIN WRECK

McAuliffe’s Supported The Passage Of ObamaCare

McAuliffe Supported The Passage Of President Obama’s Health Care Law. McAULIFFE: “President Obama went in, dealt with healthcare; passed it. It was tough. We may not have agreed with all parts of it. We didn’t get everything we wanted. I happen to have been a big supporter of the public option, but you know what? We are better off today than we were before.” (“Terry McAuliffe Rallies The Arlington Young Dems,” http://www.youtube.com, Uploaded 10/22/10)

Implementation Of ObamaCare Has Been Marred With Delays

In July, The Obama Administration Announced That It Would Delay The ObamaCare Penalty On Businesses That Don’t Provide Health Insurance Until 2015. “Businesses won’t be penalized next year if they don’t provide workers health insurance after the Obama administration decided to delay a key requirement under its health-care law, two administration officials said.” (Mike Dorning and Alex Wayne, “Health-Law Employer Mandate Said To Be Delayed To 2015,” Bloomberg, 7/2/13)

Earlier This Year, The Delay Of ObamaCare’s Small Business Exchanges Was A “Significant Interruption.” “It is also the second significant interruption for the Affordable Care Act, following a one-year delay on key functions of the small business insurance marketplaces.” (Sarah Kliff, “White House Delays Employer Mandate Until 2015,” The Washington Post, 7/2/13)

The Obama Administration “Is Months Behind In Testing Data Security For The Main Pillar Of ObamaCare.” “The federal government is months behind in testing data security for the main pillar of ObamaCare: allowing Americans to buy health insurance on state exchanges due to open by October 1.” (Sharon Begley, “ObamaCare Months Behind In Testing IT Data Security,” Reuters, 8/6/13)

ObamaCare Is Increasing Taxes On Virginians & Causing Employers Not To Hire Additional Workers While Nearly A Quarter Of Virginia Doctors Have Said They Will Stop Accepting Medicare Patients

ObamaCare Raises Taxes On Virginians By $32 Billion Over The Next Ten Years. “Finally, it’s worth touching on ObamaCare’s tax increases. From 2013-2022, ObamaCare increases taxes by $1.2 trillion, which amounts to $15,796 for the average family of four. Virginia’s share of those taxes is approximately $32 billion.” (Avik Roy, “In Virginia, ObamaCare to Cause 23% of Doctors to Stop Accepting Medicare Patients,” Forbes, 10/30/12)

In Order To Avoid ObamaCare, Virginia Employers Aren’t Hiring & Are Forcing Full-Time Employees Into Part-Time Jobs. “An influential Charlottesville, Va., money management team claims that Obamacare has forced many firms in Thomas Jefferson’s hometown to switch to part-time workers, and that one manager was told he’d be fired if he hired a 50th full-time worker, the number that triggers the costly health care system. ‘Economic self-defense has many firms forcing their employees to work less than 30 hours a week regardless of their preference or availability. This trend seems to be universal even here in Charlottesville,’ David John Marotta and Megan Russell of Marotta Wealth Management said in an online memo to investors.” (Paul Bedard, “Report: ObamaCare Forces Most Charlottesville, Va., Firms To Go Part-Time,” The Washington Examiner, 08/21/13)

23 Percent Of Doctors In Virginia Said They Would Stop Accepting Medicare Patients If The Law’s Medicare Cuts Go Into Effect. “If Medicare fees decrease by ten percent or more—as the Affordable Care Act will require—28 percent of doctors in the Old Dominion say that they will place “new or additional limits” on accepting Medicare patients. 23 percent say they’ll stop accepting Medicare patients altogether.” (Avik Roy, “In Virginia, ObamaCare to Cause 23% of Doctors to Stop Accepting Medicare Patients,” Forbes, 10/30/12)

Some Virginians Will Experience “Rate Shock” When Their Insurance Bills Come Due

In Virginia, Due To ObamaCare, Young Men May Have To Pay More For Health Insurance. “While the law’s effect on insurance premiums is likely to vary widely among carriers and markets, the biggest boost will come in monthly rates for the ‘young invincibles,’ men in their 20s, who pay the least now. ‘We’re going to be seeing quite a bit of rate shock,’ said Tim Connell, chief actuary for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state’s largest insurer, in a presentation Tuesday to the State Corporation Commission. (Michael Martz, “Young Men May Have To Pay More For Health Insurance,” Richmond Times-Dispatch,” 7/17/13)

Tim Connell, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield: “We’re Going To Be Seeing Quite A Bit Of Rate Shock…” “‘We’re going to be seeing quite a bit of rate shock,’ said Tim Connell, chief actuary for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state’s largest insurer, in a presentation Tuesday to the State Corporation Commission. The shock also is likely to be felt in the small-group market for businesses that employ, say, eight 29-year-old men, who may end up looking for individual insurance or paying a penalty to opt out of insuring themselves altogether.” (Michael Martz, “Young Men May Have To Pay More For Health Insurance,” Richmond Times-Dispatch,” 7/17/13)

So what should we get out of this? Whatever Terry McAuliffe’s sins may be as an entrepreneur, he is plainly a Socialist Democrat. So given the opportunity, we know what McAuliffe will do. He will do his best to corrupt the economy of the state. Like Obama, McAuliffe will foist crony capitalism upon us, and in the process, he will cripple our ability to use fossil fuels to power our economy.

On the other hand, Cuccinelli has a good record as our attorney general. Cuccinelli has fought the Obama administration’s environmental craziness, and he has fought the Obama’s administration’s unconstitutional healthcare plans.

People say they are tired of the negative campaign between Cuccinelli and McAuliffe. Therefore, it might be a good idea for Cuccinelli to spend more ink pointing to his record. That does not mean Anna Nix and company should not remind folks of the risk of electing a crony capitalist. It just means they need to take more time to contrasting McAuliffe’s “record” with Cuccinelli’s much more solid record.

“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There’s a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts.” Ronald Reagan.